‘Worst I’ve seen’: Aussie star slams huge Paris Olympics blunder as ‘defective’ Paris medals returned in mass

The Paris Olympics as a whole was seen as a massive success but one blunder has left a bad taste in the mouth of more than 100 medal winners.

It looked good when Natalya Diehm got the medal but it quickly went south. Photo: Adam Head and Instagram

Australian Olympian Natalya Diehm says her bronze medal from the Paris Games started breaking apart within hours of her taking third in the BMX freestyle.

Her comments come as complaints have been made in mass to the International Olympic Committee over the quality of medals won at the Paris Games in August, with more than 100 athletes stating their treasured prize is falling apart.

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The group of medal winners, which includes six Australians, have expressed their sadness and disappointment on social media, with officials stating any faulty medals will be replaced during the first quarter of 2025.

One such athlete is Diehm, who took to social media almost immediately after the games to show just how tarnished the medal was.

This should not happen. Photo: Instagram / _natalyadiehm

Natalya's medal on the left, a fresh Paralympic medal on the right. Photo: Instagram / _natalyadiehm

“So once I won bronze, I had so many people ask to see a photo of it or that I should post a video on my stories so that everybody could see it and I didn’t because this literally started to happen day one of me having the medal and I guess I just wanted to keep it quiet for a little,” Diehm said in a video in October.

“It’s unfortunate because the original bronze colour is so pretty.

“I’m not sure why this has happened to mine. I haven’t taken it out partying, it’s not from people touching it so much because this is a comparison to what a bronze medal should look like.

“Mine is one of the worst to come out of the Olympics this year. I’m hoping I can get it fixed or replaced. But this is it up and close.”

And elaborating on the situation on Wednesday, Diehm said her medal has continued to degrade since then.

“For me, mine started happening on day one. I received the medal, (had the) medal ceremony, did all the media stuff,” she told The Fox’s Fifi, Fev & Nick.

“I got back to the Village at about 12 in the morning, and I looked down and I was like, ‘Oh no, I’ve already scuffed it!’

“I licked my finger, gave it a bit of a rub, and the clear coat had rubbed off straight away.”

It looked good when Natalya Diehm got the medal but it quickly went south. Photo: Adam Head and Instagram

Diehm said the coveted prize was wearing almost immediately and was the worst one she’s seen.

“It’s honestly the worst bronze medals that I’ve seen, worldwide. Within two weeks, it was just looking terrible.

“When I first flagged it with the AOC (Australian Olympic Committee), they said they’ll try to work with the IOC to get this fixed.

“But they said it’s not the first time it’s happened; it happened in the 2016 Rio Olympics as well. Hopefully, we can get it fixed. The bronze seems to be the worst colour.”

An investigation by the New York Times this week underlined issues relating to the medals, sparking an apology from Olympic bosses and a promise to replace them.

“Damaged medals will be systematically replaced by the Monnaie de Paris (the French mint) and engraved in an identical way to the originals,” the IOC said in a statement.

The Olympic medals were designed by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which is a brand owned by France’s richest family.

Reports state none of the problematic medals are gold, instead, it is the silver and bronze medals that are proving to be an issue.

Originally published as ‘Worst I’ve seen’: Aussie star slams huge Paris Olympics blunder as ‘defective’ Paris medals returned in mass